This is a contentious area and historians cannot be sure so it is a quick overview type lesson.
Learning objectives
- Pupils are able to offer at least 2 valid reasons for its growth e.g. Mayans knew how to grow crops like maize (slash and burn technique) and irrigate fields, and how to hunt e.g. for deer, and to trade.
- The more able grasp how many of these ideas must be speculative.
- The more able can make links with growth of Roman Empire studied earlier and with Ancient Egypt which had the Gift of the Nile whereas the Maya had to contend with jungle and mountain.
SMART TASK
Step 1
Having established the reasons why people think the Mayan civilization was so significant at that time, it is important to explain why the empire was able to grow to be so important. This is all the more remarkable when you consider the geography of the area. It is worth revisiting the map shown earlier, reproduced again on side 2. Stress the unpromising terrain: jungle and mountain. Bring in any maps or atlases you have in school to emphasise the harshness of the terrain and the difficulty of cultivation.
Step 2
Start
